Colorado Rockies: Where Coors Field ranks among MLB’s gimmicky parks

DENVER, CO - JUNE 24: A general view of the Colorado Rockies v the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field on June 24, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. The Diamondbacks defeat the Rockies 10-9. (Photo by Bart Young/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - JUNE 24: A general view of the Colorado Rockies v the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field on June 24, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. The Diamondbacks defeat the Rockies 10-9. (Photo by Bart Young/Getty Images)
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HOUSTON, TEXAS – MAY 28: Jason Heyward #22 of the Chicago Cubs leaps at the wall but is unable to catch a home run ball hit by Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros in the sixth inning at Minute Maid Park on May 28, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS – MAY 28: Jason Heyward #22 of the Chicago Cubs leaps at the wall but is unable to catch a home run ball hit by Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros in the sixth inning at Minute Maid Park on May 28, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Cheap Home Runs

Manny Randhawa of MLB.com did a very good story on this a few years ago. This category is more or less self-explanatory … balls that don’t normally go out, go out here. And nothing can change a game like a home run, rendering this a very important category.

Here’s a graph of just this part of the equation itself, which was simplified to a 1-5 scale.

Triples

Triples are super weird if you think about it. They only occur in parks that have different features. Coors Field has large gaps, San Francisco has triples alley, Fenway has that cutout in center field. There are some surprises once you see this list.

Dome

Domes are different. Sometimes a ball can hit the roof, like this recent play. In fact, that’s what convinced us it was time to do this story. Also the game can completely change if the roof is open or closed, which sometimes happens mid-game.

There are only seven parks in MLB with roofs and some are used way less than others.

Extreme Park Factors

More from Colorado Rockies News

If the stadium is very offensively or defensively friendly, it got some added points here.

Miscellaneous Weirdness Factor

Wrigley Field has ivy that sometimes swallow balls, Arizona is so dry that they needed to humidify the ball, Oakland has so much foul territory that the bullpens are still on the field and a bunch of parks have small things like juts in their outfield walls. All of this stuff contributed to this category.

Gimmick Park Total (points in parentheses)

  1. (20) Chase Field
  2. (19) Coors Field
  3. (18) Minute Maid Park
  4. (17) Fenway Park
  5. (17) Tropicana Field
  6. (17) Marlins Park
  7. (16) Rogers Centre
  8. (15) Wrigley Field
  9. (14) Globe Life Park
  10. (13) Oakland Coliseum
  11. (12) Guaranteed Rate Field
  12. (12) Comerica Park
  13. (12) Oriole Park
  14. (12) Oracle Park
  15. (12) Miller Park
  16. (11) Yankee Stadium
  17. (11) Target Field
  18. (11) T-Mobile Park
  19. (11) Progressive Field
  20. (11) Kauffman Stadium
  21. (10) Great American Ballpark
  22. (10) PNC Park
  23. (10) SunTrust Park
  24. (10) PETCO Park
  25. (10) Citizens Bank Park
  26. (9) Citi Field
  27. (9) Dodger Stadium
  28. (9) Angel Stadium
  29. (7) Nationals Park
  30. (6) Busch Stadium

Schedule